By now you must have seen pictures of some prominent Pakistani celebrities in Los Angeles and are probably wondering why they’re there. Well, we have all the details.
Ahsan Khan, Frieha Altaf, Ali Xeeshan, Huma Adnan, Zainab Chottani, Sania Maskatiya and Saba Ansari have flown to the US to support an initiative by CALPAK – an alliance of Californian Americans and Pakistanis – that aims to promote education in the under-served communities in Pakistan. CALPAK has been working strenuously for nearly five years to actively promote girls education, women empowerment and higher education for young Pakistanis. Since it’s a non-profit organization, CALPAK is hosting a fundraising event in Long Beach, California on February 11, which will be attended by not just the Pakistani celebrities but also Hollywood actors Faran Tahir and Iqbal Theba.
The event is titled ‘Fashion Soiree’ and will allow people to learn more about CALPAK’s adopted school, girls’ mentorship and computer coding programs, as well as the alliance’s relationship with the Pakistani Department of Education and the US State Department.
Anila Ali, founder of CALPAK, told Something Haute that the funds raised through this event will be invested in a school that’s being run by them in Pakistan. “We are uniting the hearts of Americans and Pakistanis for the children in Pakistan,” she said.
“We have invited Ahsan because he brought such an important topic of child sexual abuse to the national conversation through his character in Udaari. You’ve to be brave to come out and talk about these taboo topics. We chose Ali Xeeshan because he’s been advocating against child marriages. Frieha is a strong woman who has broken glass ceilings. She and Huma Adnan are role models for strong Pakistani women. Huma has worked with USAID for five years in empowering women locally. These are the women we want to work with, who we want to represent our vision in Pakistan,” Anila responded when asked what prompted her to invite these Pakistani celebrities.
CALPAK has partnered with CalSouthern University and with Pakistani universities which will allow them to provide higher education, teacher training and nurses training in Pakistan. The alliance has also partnered with USPAK Women’s Council of the US State Department to empower girls through collaboration with Sindh and Punjab governments. You can buy the tickets for the fundraising event here.
For more details regarding CALPAK and donations, you can visit their website.
